Online
by Laura A. Rogers
Summary: Based loosely on the movie 'You've Got Mail' with a Superman twist.
1. College and Hot Pockets

Title: Online

Author: clarksgirl1988 (Laura)

Disclaimer: Smallville is property of the WB and DC comics and I am making no profit from this story. All characters except for Mollie and Jen are property or the WB and DC comics and I'm not making money off of them either.

A/N: This is a fanfiction based off of a movie. If you haven't seen You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, I suggest you see it before reading this fic, but you will still understand it if you haven't seen the movie. Thank and enjoy! Replies are always appreciated, please try to be nice or offer constructive critism.

* * *

Lana signed on just like she did every night and was pleased with the familiar sound of an IM message popping up on the screen. She smiled as she saw the screen name. She had been expecting him for about half an hour.

_SuperDude: Hey!_

Tom'sAngel: Where were you? I've been waiting.

_SuperDude: I'm sorry. I had to finish up some chores before I could get online._

_Tom'sAngel: All right. I guess you are excused. LOL._

_SuperDude: Gee thanks. Anyways, how was your day?_

_Tom'sAngel: It was okay I guess. I had to stay late after class today to discuss a paper I wrote. Apparently my professor wasn't pleased. I hate school right now._

_SuperDude: Well, at least its senior year!_

_Tom'sAngel: I guess. Did you hear back about your job application yet?_

SuperDude: Nope. I'm still waiting. It's driving me insane! I just don't know if I will get the job or not. Oh man, I have to go. Ttyl.

_Tom'sAngel: Bye._

_SuperDude has signed off._

Lana signed off and sighed. He always had to randomly leave to do something. She looked at the clock next to her bed and saw that it was 12:30. She pulled out her Math textbook and got started on her Calculus homework that was due the next morning.

When Lana went to pick up the paper the next morning outside her dorm, the headlines read 'SUPERMAN SAVES METROPOLIS SUBWAY STATION FROM DISASTER'. She rolled her eyes and tossed the paper on her desk before picking up her things and going to class.

"Superman is the hottest thing ever!" Jen exclaimed as she held the paper from the morning up in front of Lana's face on the way to class.

"Umm... Jen, You need to seek professional help. He is just a guy who wears tights and flies around trying to save everything. I mean, I'm not saying he is bad or anything, I just think he is doing all of this stuff to get publicity. No one saves the world just because they want to. He is just a sell out like everyone else." Lana explained.

"You think too much Lana. Lighten up. He saved 45 people on the subway and another 57 that were in the station, that's over 100 people! I mean, even if it is for publicity, the guy is a hero." Jen said while holding the paper closer to Lana's face, if possible.

"I get it. Get that thing out of my face!" Lana said before pushing the paper aside with a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Jen just smirked and shook her head before heading into her first class.

"Today we will be discussing a relatively new public figure in the media. Some of you may have heard of Superman. Today we will be examining some aspects of his popularity and look into his coverage. The media is a very important component in our society. We will be looking at some of the stories involving Superman and what exaggerations the media makes in order to entice people to pay attention to certain things." Lana sighed and rolled her eyes. After the introduction of Superman to the public, no one could talk about anything else. Most girls were already in love with him and sending him very fanatic letters. Lana cringed at the thought. She knew her friends Jen and Mollie were two of his biggest fans in the state of New York. They would always be talking to her about the latest thing that had been released about Superman. His hair color or shoe size or things like that. They were absolutely ecstatic when it came to him.

"Let us take a deeper look at the latest Superman story. As many of you know, there was a malfunction on a subway train in Metropolis, Kansas last night, and Superman stopped it from colliding with a pillar in the station. The story says that he was seen propelling himself in the opposite direction the train was going and that it appeared to slow down the train that was going over 30 miles an hour. Now, things like that may be exaggerated because of his recent rise to fame..." Lana tuned out again. She really didn't care what they were saying about Superman.

After class, Lana walked straight back to her dorm and looked distastefully at the assignment from her Media class. She had to do a report on a story about Superman and compare the claims in the story to similar feats performed in another story and write about how the media uses the same techniques to sell information to the masses.

'Just great.' She thought as she sat down at her computer to start doing research and find a story. She looked aimlessly on the net for an hour, and when she looked down at her watch she cursed under her breath. Grabbing her bag, she ran out the door to get to her next class.

"Miss Lang. Great to see you could join us. Lucky I didn't lock you out today." Her professor said nastily before continuing his lecture. Lana sat in the back and sunk down into her chair to take notes.

Two hours later she was finally released from class and didn't even go back to her dorm before heading off to her last class for the day.

After class was finally over, Lana almost crawled to her room. She always felt exhausted after class on a Monday. Once she was safely at her desk, she sat down in her little leather-rotating chair and signed on.

SuperDude: There you are! I was hoping you would be on.

Lana smiled when she saw the message pop up. She needed a distraction.

_Tom'sAngel: I just got back from Lit class. How about you?_

_SuperDude: Oh, I was just finishing up on a paper._

_Tom'sAngel: Lucky, I have to start one here soon._

_SuperDude: LOL. I don't envy you. So how was class?_

_Tom'sAngel: Well, my Media teacher decided that today we were all going to talk about Superman. I only caught bits and pieces of it, but now we have to do a stupid project on him. _

_SuperDude: Well that's... terrible. What's so bad about Superman?_

_Tom'sAngel: Well, I just think he has ulterior motives when he saves people. I mean; no one does things like that for no reason._

_SuperDude: Maybe he does. I have never seen him ask anyone for something in return when he saves them._

_Tom'sAngel: You've seen him?_

_SuperDude: Well yeah, I mean, when he is flying around or something. He lives in Metropolis after all._

_Tom'sAngel: That's right. So, have you ever talked to him?_

_SuperDude: Maybe._

_Tom'sAngel: What do you mean maybe? I could use any information you have about him for my project. I'm doing so badly in my Media class._

_SuperDude: Well, he doesn't just show everyone who he is. I might have talked to him and not even known it._

_Tom'sAngel: True. So, do you know anything else?_

_SuperDude: What do you want to know?_

_Tom'sAngel: Well, can he really do all the things the newspapers say he can?_

_SuperDude: Yep. I'm pretty sure he can. _

_Tom'sAngel: Have you ever seen him do anything?_

_SuperDude: I got to go. I'm really sorry Lana. I'll be on later._

_SuperDude has signed off._

"Why does he always do that?" Lana said to herself.

"Do what?" Her roommate Mollie asked.

"Never mind."

"You are talking about the mysterious Clark aren't you? He always sounded hot to me. You should meet him or something." Mollie said while coming in to Lana's room with a Hot Pocket in hand.

"Yeah right. He lives in Kansas. I highly doubt I will ever go there." Lana said before going back to her research for her Superman project.

"What are you up to?" Mollie asked while taking a bite of her snack.

"Just a project. How about you do it for me." Lana said while batting her eyelashes.

"What's it on."

"Superman. I thought you might want to do it because you are in love with him." Lana said while silently praying her friend would do it.

"You forget, I am not in love with him, he is in love with me; he just doesn't know it yet. So if you will excuse me, I have a Hot Pocket to eat."

'Damnit. I thought I had her.' Lana thought before typing in 'Superman' in her Yahoo search bar.

Page after page came up with information, and a few even offered blurry pictures of the hero flying above the Metropolis skyline. Lana sighed for the thousandth time and finally just sat back and decided to ignore the project all together.

"Well if you're going to pout about it." Mollie said while returning with two more Hot Pockets in hand and taking Lana's seat at the monitor and starting the project. Lana just laughed quietly before thanking her roommate and sitting back on her bed to work on her Lit homework.

After a few minutes of listening to 'interesting facts' about Superman, Lana heard a blood-curdling scream come from the girl sitting at her desk.

"Mollie! What's wrong?" Lana asked, alarmed.

"He's... he's... he's dating someone! NOOO!" Mollie exclaimed with grief. There on the screen was a picture of Superman and a fairly attractive woman atop the Daily Planet building.

"Superman was seen dropping off his girlfriend, Lois Lane atop Metropolis' most popular newspaper building earlier today after saving her from an attempted robbery. Police say she is an employee of The Daily Plant and will be questioned concerning the robbery later on." Mollie read from the article.

Lana scrolled down to the interview and pointed to it.

"Just breathe Mollie. Look what it says here, she said she had never met him before and he was just being a good citizen. You know how the media can twist things like that." Lana said, trying to comfort her distressed friend.

"That was just plain evil! I cannot believe those jerks would write such libelous things!" Mollie exclaimed.

"It's okay. Hey, I could use that for my project. It's not something he did that they exaggerated exactly, but it is inaccurate. What do you think?" Mollie just slowly stepped out of the room and raced for the freezer to grab another Hot Pocket. A few minutes later she came back into Lana's room with the microwaved Hot Pocket and answered.

"Sure, I mean, since it's not true. You could use it." She said before sitting back down.

"Do you know any other stories where that happened?" Lana asked.

"I'm sure I could find one. Don't worry about it." Mollie said reassuringly before getting back to work, half eaten Hot Pocket in hand.

"Okay." Lana said unsurely before finishing up her Lit homework.

"Hey Mo, I'm going to go use your computer. Be back in a bit."

"Sure." Was Mollie's reply as her eyes remained glued to the screen.

Lana signed on to see her friend wasn't online. She sighed and sat down on Mollie's bed and turned the TV on.

"Just minutes ago Superman stopped a bank robbery in Metropolis, bringing three of the cities most wanted criminals to justice." A news reporter's voice boomed while security camera footage played a small clip of a man in tights and a cape tying up three thugs in a bank. Lana turned off the TV and let out a frustrated groan. Everyone was so obsessed with Superman; she wondered if she was the only one that was still sane.


	2. Starbucks and Buses

The familiar sound of an IM popping up interrupted her thoughts as she looked towards Mollie's computer and saw a message.

_SuperDude: Hey Lana! You there?_

Lana hastily got up and tripped short of the computer. She grumbled under her breath and slowly got to her knees and quickly wrote a reply.

_Tom'sAngel: Yeah I'm here. What's up?_

She quickly got to her feet and took a seat in the old squeaky chair Mollie used.

_SuperDude: A busy day, but nothing too bad. Sorry about earlier I had to do something, but I'm all yours now._

Lana smirked.

_Tom'sAngel: Oh really? Well, that's good to hear._

_SuperDude: I knew you'd be pleased. I also thought you would like to know that I managed to get some information on Superman for your project. _

_Tom'sAngel: Wow! That's really sweet of you, but I already have a topic and a totally obsessed friend writing it._

_SuperDude: Really? What's your topic?_

_Tom'sAngel: Well, my friend nearly had a seizure when she saw this article where they mentioned this girl named Lois Lane being seen with Superman and them claiming she was his girlfriend. I looked more into it and found out that it was just a lie, so she is going to write me up something about that._

_SuperDude: LOL! Who is this friend?_

_Tom'sAngel: It's my roommate Mollie. Sometimes I think she is insane. She says that Superman is in love with her and he just doesn't know it yet._

_SuperDude: LOL! She does sound pretty interesting. So, besides him being a corrupted hero, what do you think of him._

_Tom'sAngel: That's pretty much all I think of him. I mean; I've never met him or anything, so I can't comment on his personality._

_SuperDude: I see. So I guess you won't be sending him fan mail anytime soon. LOL._

_Tom'sAngel: No I don't think so. So, do you have any information on Superman's relationship with Lois Lane?_

_SuperDude: I seem to remember that issue. Yeah. We will save that for later, I have to go. Ttyl. _

_SuperDude has signed off._

"Damn!" Lana exclaimed.

"Well, well, did SuperDude just leave you hanging again?" Mollie said while munching on another Hot Pocket.

"Yes. I'm going to go out. You want to come?"

"I would, but I have someone's homework to do. Where are you going to go?"

"I'll probably stop by Starbucks and get something to drink. Want me to get you something at least?" Lana offered while getting her jacket on and her purse.

"Sure. I'll take a bucket of caffeine with a little mocha flavoring." Mollie said. Lana laughed and headed out the door.

As she was walking down the sidewalk, the streetlights went on and the rush hour traffic started to fade. Taxis flew down the streets in a yellow blur and the many lights of the tall buildings glowed. Lana breathed in the crisp air and walked briskly down the street to the corner Starbucks to grab something warm.

Once inside, she got in the eternally long line and stood patiently for what seemed like hours as she watched the traffic at the corner. A huge semi pulled up to the intersection and stalled in the middle while furious travelers honked viciously behind. A huge pile of cars waited not so patiently behind the huge truck and were trying to find a way around. Just getting a green light, a bus started to come towards the intersection from the right of the semi. The driver was scolding a disobedient kid in the back and turned around just before seeing the huge semi. The driver slammed on the breaks and was silently praying that the bus would miraculously stop, but he knew he was too close and going too fast. Just before impact, with all 25 kids on the bus screaming their lungs off, a figure dashed in front of the bus and picked it up. The wheels suspended in the air and gradually stopped. When it was safe, the bus was lowered to the vehicle ground. The bus driver was keeled over and about to fall out of his seat.

The familiar colors of Superman's cape zipped by as he tore the door of the bus and gently took the driver out. The kids looked at each other and stared silently at Superman.

He was about to whisk the man to the hospital when he heard another distress call rattle his brains. He quickly looked around for a friendly face to take care of the man when he spotted a young woman walking out of the corner Starbucks. He quickly ran over to her and caused her to drop her coffee.

"Sorry, but I need you to take this man to the hospital." He held his head in pain as he heard the screams of some other person in pain.

"Please! I have to go." He said before she slowly nodded and he smiled gratefully before flying off into the air.

Lana stood stunned for a moment before looking at the man that was lying in front of her. She bent down to check his pulse, it was weak, but still there. She whipped her cell phone out of her purse and called the paramedics. Ten minutes later the police were on the scene and an ambulance showed up. The old man was put on a stretcher and a paramedic asked Lana if she was coming. She didn't want the nameless man to be alone when he woke up, so she agreed.

Once in the hospital waiting room, she called Mollie to let her know what was happening.

"Superman SPOKE to you!" Mollie practically screamed into the phone.

"Yes, he asked me to get a man to the hospital, so I am still here." Lana tried to explain.

"No, tell me about him. Is he really hot?" Mollie asked, totally dismissing the fact that a man might be dying right now.

"I don't know." Lana thought back to the encounter. She hadn't really had time to think, but something about his eyes just hypnotized her. He looked to genuinely concerned about the man that he had never met. She quickly reverted back to her conversation.

"Lana!" Mollie whined.

"Alright fine. He was pretty hot. He had really intense green eyes and dark brown hair, and he is pretty tall. He had a good foot over me." Lana said in an unenthusiastic tone. Mollie shrieked with excitement.

"You are so lucky!" She finally said.

"Yeah, sure." Lana said before saying goodbye and turning to see a doctor coming towards her.

"Are you Miss Lang?"

"Yes."

"You brought in Mr. Haubert correct?" The doctor asked.

"If that is his name, then yes."

"The bus crash victim." The doctor continued.

"Well, there wasn't really a crash. There was almost a crash, but Superman stopped it. Then he pulled the man out of the drivers seat and told me to take him to a hospital." Lana explained.

"I see. Well, Mr. Haubert had a minor heart attack. It isn't unreasonable to have one at his age and in his situation. He is going to be fine. He will have to stay here for observation overnight though."

"Okay."

"Do you know anyone we can contact? Friends, family?" The doctor inquired.

"No, I'm sorry." The doctor just nodded.

"Well, don't you worry about it, we will find something. Thank you very much for your assistance." The doctor was about to walk away when Lana stopped him.

"Actually, could I just see him before I leave?" Lana asked politely. The doctor looked her over carefully and then nodded.

"A few minutes. He's in room 139." He said briefly before heading down the hall again.

Lana went to the room and looked in the window to see the elderly man sitting up and staring blankly at the wall.

She cautiously opened the door and entered the small room.

"Hello Mr. Haubert. I just wanted to see if you were alright." Lana said meekly.

"Are you the young woman who brought me in?" He asked, turning to face her.

"Umm, yes I am."

"Thank you." He said before smiling.

"You're welcome." Lana said shyly before turning towards the door.

"Oh, could I get your name. I just wanted to know the name of the person that saved my life." Lana didn't see anything dangerous about telling him.

"My name is Lana. I'm glad you're okay. Bye." She said sweetly before exiting.

Lana walked back to her dorm with no coffee and a weary expression on her face.

"Well hello!" Mollie said cheerfully as Lana entered.

"Hey." Lana said unenthusiastically.

"What's eating you? You should be like... the happiest person on the planet right now. You met and talked to Superman!" Mollie said while jumping to get her Hot Pocket fresh out of the microwave.

"I don't know. I guess it was just a long night." Lana said while throwing her purse on her bed.

"Well, it's about to get longer. You have to look over your project that I slaved over while you were talking to Superman. To think, if I had gone to get the coffee instead of you, I would have met him." Mollie said with a hint of depression in her voice.

"If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't that magical. He asked me to take an old dying guy to a hospital, held his head for a second and then flew off." Lana said; trying to sound bored.

"Well, still. I would have melted." Mollie said wistfully.

"And Mr. Haubert would be dead. So it is a good thing I went." Lana said lightheartedly.

"Who's Mr. Haubert? The old dying guy?" Mollie asked.

"Yep. He isn't dying anymore though."

"Well that's good. Good thing Superman was there." Mollie said before grabbing two more Hot Pockets and retreating to her room.

Lana went to her room and signed on.

_SuperDude: Where were you?_

_Tom'sAngel: Sorry, you will never guess the night I had._

_SuperDude: What happened?_

_Tom'sAngel: I ran into Superman actually. There was almost a bus crash, and he came and saved the day. Then I had to run the bus driver to the hospital._

He didn't respond for a few minutes.

_Tom'sAngel: You there?_

_SuperDude: Yeah, sorry. Is the guy all right?_

_Tom'sAngel: He's fine now. I was sitting at the hospital for a few hours and then they let me talk to him for a minute._

_SuperDude: Well that's good. It sounds like Superman is growing on you. You haven't said anything bad about him yet._

_Tom'sAngel: I don't know. I mean, it looked like he had some sort of hearing problem though, he was hunched over and holding his head for a minute when he was talking to me. I kind of felt sorry for him I guess._

_SuperDude: You shouldn't. He has superhearing. That's how he knows when people are in trouble. He was probably just getting another call from someone._

_Tom'sAngel: How do you know._

_SuperDude: Well, everyone knows that._

_Tom'sAngel: I didn't._

SuperDude: Well, now you do. I have to go. Talk to you tomorrow Lana.

_SuperDude has signed off._

"Again with the leaving!" Lana said to herself. She had been talking to him for months, and he was always doing that.

"You are seriously going to have to get used to that." Mollie yelled from the next room.

"I know. Night Mollie." Lana said before slipping under her comforter and falling asleep. Those piercing green eyes appearing in her dreams all night.


	3. Superman and Windows

The next morning, Lana woke up earlier than usual and looked over at her computer. There was a message from SuperDude.

_SuperDude: Wow, I didn't know you got up so early._

Lana had forgotten to sign off, but she was up now, so she trotted over to her computer and plopped down in her chair.

_Tom'sAngel: I guess I will be today. LOL._

_SuperDude: Did I wake you up? I'm sorry._

_Tom'sAngel: It's okay. It's not a bad way to wake up._

_SuperDude: I just wanted to say hi! I never get to say good morning to you, so, since you obviously forgot to sign off, I thought I would say it._

_Tom'sAngel: How thoughtful of you. Why are you up so early?_

_SuperDude: I had some things to get done this morning before class._

_Tom'sAngel: Oh. Well, I have a little while before my first class, so when do your classes start today?_

_SuperDude: My first one is in 2 hours._

_Tom'sAngel: So I guess you don't have to rush off somewhere, so you can stay and chat._

_SuperDude: I guess you would be correct._

Lana heard Mollie scream in the next room. Lana quickly ran over to see a man trying to break through the window. He had a gun in one hand and a knife in the other.

"Open the window girly!" He yelled brutally.

"Lana! Help!"

"Don't move now, or I will shoot her." The man said to Lana. Clearly he wasn't too smart, or he would have just shot through the window, but he still had a gun.

"Now, I'm going to ask you nicely once more, open the window." The man said even more forcefully than last time.

Mollie was crying and Lana was trying her hardest not to join her. The man sighed before shooting through the window. The glass shattered and he quickly climbed in.

Mollie screamed again, this time yelling "Superman!" between sobs.

Minutes later, Superman flew through the window behind the armed man and took his gun from behind.

"What the-"He was stopped when a heavy fist landed on his head and he passed out on the ground. Lana just looked at the man before her while Mollie was still huddled in a corner. She looked up to see Superman there and instantly fainted.

"Is everything alright?" He asked Lana.

"I... I don't know. That guy was just standing outside her window... and he shot through and climbed in." She said, stumbling through her explanation.

"Was she shot?" He asked quickly.

"No. He hit the closet door. She just... I guess she was shocked to see you." Lana laughed a little to try to lighten the mood.

"Did I scare her?" Lana noticed he didn't seem to be in a hurry like he was last time.

"Oh, no. She is... a big fan." Lana said while going over to her friend and checking quickly for a pulse. She was fine.

"I see." He said while laughing.

"What about you? Not a fan?"

"Well... I... I mean... well..." Lana stuttered.

"It's okay. Not everyone has to like me. It's refreshing really. Nice to know that there is at least one person that doesn't think I'm so great." He said while laughing.

"It's not that I don't like you or anything." Lana tried to explain.

"No, you are entitled to your opinion." He said before looking back out the window.

"I really need to get going, this guy needs to spend a little time behind bars. Nice meeting you..."

"Lana. You too Superman." Lana finished.

"Thank you for your help the other night Lana." He said before flashing her a magnificent smile and flying out the window. Lana smiled and looked back over at her friend who was still out cold. She sighed and picked her up with some difficulty and put her in her bed.

"There you go." Lana said to herself before going out of Mollie's room and into her own. She was thinking about how she was going to pay to replace the window when a knock came at the door.

Lana answered it to find a man standing there with a clipboard in hand.

"I was informed that there was a window here that needed fixing." He said.

"Well... yes actually. I can't afford a replacement right now though.

"No need, Superman requested it, I told him that it was on the house." The man said while coming inside and assessing the damage. He took some measurements and then made his leave.

"Should be ready in a few days. I will drop it off personally when it is done." He said. Lana thanked him profusely and he just nodded and accepted gracefully.

"That isn't a problem ma'am." He said before shutting the door on his way out. Lana smiled to herself and went back into her room.

The last message from SuperDude was him making another mysterious getaway even though he said he didn't have class for two hours.

'Where do you go?' She thought.


	4. Gratitude and Confessions

Clark quickly rushed into his room to find Pete sitting on the couch holding a bag of chips and watching the football game on TV.

"Hey man. What happened?" He asked anxiously.

"Oh, I just got some guy trying to get into a girl's dorm room." He said simply while changing back into his school clothes. He placed his glasses firmly on his face to finish the ensemble and went to his room.

"Well, anyone we know?"

"It was in New York. I doubt it."

"Okay... let me rephrase, was it Lana?" Pete asked.

"Alright... so maybe it was. So what?" Clark asked defensively.

"Uh huh. That's what I thought. I'm sure you let a plane crash somewhere or an evil robot take over a country so the evil man wouldn't hurt Lana." Pete said jokingly.

"Yeah right. I don't have favorites Pete. I help those who need help."

"So... if Lana was in trouble and Metropolis was about to be hit by a nuke or something, what would you do?"

"I would save them all." Clark said, annoyed.

"You can't, you have to save one or the other, which would you choose?"

Clark didn't respond. He just put his shoes on and grabbed his book bag before heading to class.

"She doesn't even know who you are buddy!" Pete called as Clark slammed the door shut.

It was true. She didn't know that he talked to her every spare minute he got and that he also saved her life. She only knew about his screen name and a totally different guy with tights that saved her from someone trying to get into her dorm room.

He pulled his laptop out when he got to class and connected to the Internet. He signed on and immediately found that Lana was online. He smiled before IMing her.

_SuperDude: Hey!_

_Tom'sAngel: Guess what!_

_SuperDude: What?_

He already knew what, she was going to tell him about her encounter with Superman.

Tom'sAngel: Superman came and saved my friend when this guy tried to shoot her, and then he somehow knew that I really wasn't a big fan, and he didn't care. He was so nice too.

Clark smiled.

_SuperDude: That's great. So you are starting to like him then?_

_Tom'sAngel: I think I am. I mean; he seems so real. I expected him to be more conceded. He even got the window fixed for free. I really want to thank him._

Clark remembered the stunned look on the man's face when he asked him for a window replacement. The guy had been too stunned to do anything but nod a little and say that it was on the house. Clark had thanked him profusely of course, but the man would have none of it and said it was his pleasure.

_SuperDude: That was nice of him. You definitely should thank him._

_Tom'sAngel: I don't know how though. I mean... I don't really want to go and get into some trouble that might be dangerous and have him come save me just because I wanted to say something if there are people that need him more._

_SuperDude: Well, I happen to know that he has made a few visits to New York lately for other things besides work. It's been all over the Kansas local papers. Nothing too terrible has happened. He does have super hearing, so maybe you should just get his attention. _

_Tom'sAngel: Good idea. Thanks Clark. I'll ttyl._

_SuperDude: For once you are the one that's leaving. LOL._

_Tom'sAngel: Yeah... weird. Bye._

_SuperDude: Bye. _

_Tom'sAngel has signed off._

Clark smiled to himself as he kept his ears attentive. He was just waiting for an excuse to see Lana. He waited for a few more hours before getting online again to see that Lana wasn't there. He frowned but then remembered that she was in class. It was Thursday, so she would have her last class at 2:00, which means she would be out around 4:30. He looked down at his watch and it read 3:45. Only an hour or so left. He was getting very impatient. He couldn't wait to see what kind of 'Thank You' he would be getting.

At around 5:00, Clark could have sworn he heard Lana, but he had been saying that to himself for a while now. He was starting to think he was actually hearing things.

Pete gave a worried glance in Clark's direction.

"Hey man, are you alright?" Pete asked.

"Yeah Pete. I'm just waiting for Lana to say something." Clark said impatiently.

"Okay man. I mean, you've been looking out the window like that for a little while now, you sure you don't want to watch some TV?"

"No TV; that will interrupt my concentration." Just as he finished his sentence, he heard it. Very clearly, he heard Lana's voice.

"Superman! I wanted to talk to you when you weren't busy!" She yelled, though Clark would have heard her if she was whispering. He immediately dawned his suite and sped off.

"Later Clark." Pete said while flipping the TV on.

Clark flew faster than he ever had before and ended up in New York in less than three minutes. He found the NYU campus and quickly sped to her room. When he was at the door, he knocked quickly and was met with Mollie at the door.

"Omihgod!" Mollie barely whispered as she saw Superman standing before her.

"It's okay. I just came by to-"But he couldn't finish, she was already on the floor, again.

"Mollie! Are you okay?" Lana said while rushing out to see if your roommate was okay, and to see who was at the door.

"That was awfully fast." Lana said while smiling. She looked at her roommate and shook her head.

"You said you wanted to talk to me?" Clark said with a dazzling smile.

"Yes, I wanted to thank you for taking care of the window and everything." Lana said while trying not to melt when he smiled.

"Oh, it's my pleasure. Are you sure your friend is going to be okay?" Clark asked, looking down at Mollie's unconscious form.

"Oh yeah, she is just, weird." Lana said while ushering him into the small dorm.

"I have a bed if you wanted to sit down." Lana said lamely while leading the way into her room.

'I have a bed if you wanted to sit down! What the hell was that Lang!' Lana thought to herself while awkwardly sitting down at her desk.

"So..." Lana started. She hadn't planned out anything to say after that.

"Yeah..." Clark was thinking about telling her that he was SuperDude. It would make so many things easier. He had always been brought up to tell the truth except when hiding his secret, but he didn't think Lana would tell anyone, so he went for it.

"Lana, I actually wanted to tell you something." Clark started nervously.

"Okay." Lana said while preparing herself for anything.

Just then his head started to ring as the piercing sound of a woman screaming and a man being punched echoed through his mind.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." Clark said before getting up and stumbling towards the door, his head still ringing.

"Are you okay?" Lana said while getting up to help. Clark's head was hurting a lot more than usual, and he stumbled back into Lana, who fell back onto the floor with him on top of her.

"Lana?" Clark said a few seconds later when his head cleared.

"Umm... Superman, could you just..." She was going to say for him to move, but she felt pleasantly comfortable with him fully on top of her. She felt a bit lightheaded from the fall and the fact that he was just slightly cutting off her air supply.

"Oh, I'm sorry Lana." Clark instantly got up and offered his hand to help her up.

"It's okay, sometimes when I get a call, it just comes in in surround sound; that's all." Clark said, reading Lana's worried expression.

"If you're sure." Lana said before opening the door to watch him speed away.

Clark took off into the sky and was quickly met with an array of bullets coming from his next target. The three men standing outside of the department store were shooting their machine guns like maniacs, hoping to deliver a fatal blow. Clark smirked as the bullets bounced off of his impenetrable chest and he swooped down and grabbed one of the men, taking his gun and delivering him to the police creating a blockade outside.

"Thank you Superman. How many more were there?" One officer asked.

"I saw two more outside, but I will get a look inside." Clark assured them. He took off and zoomed past the other two men and into the store. It was empty with the exception of a few men with ski masks trying to break through a vault. Clark quickly put an end to that with a forceful blow of ice from his mouth, freezing all of the men in place. He picked the group up and tossed them out the front window of the store into the other two men outside still rapidly firing their guns.

They were knocked down and passed out instantly.

"Thank you Superman!" The police officers said while taking the men into custody.

"Anytime!" He said while jutting his chest out and smiling for a nearby camera and then zooming triumphantly into the sky. Once he was high enough, he rolled his eyes and started back off towards Lana's dorm. When he got there Lana was in her room watching the news, where the latest images of Superman saving the department store were shown. He walked in and saw Mollie coming out of her room.

"Suh...suh... Superman!" She said before passing out yet again. Clark just rolled his eyes heavenward and continued to Lana's door. He knocked before waiting for her to let him in.

"Mollie, for the last time, you don't have to knock." Lana said while answering the door to find Superman in all his glory.

"Hey... back so soon?" Lana said while opening the door. Clark walked in and looked at the picture of him smiling for the news team on the scene.

"I hate doing that." Clark confided. "I only do it because they told me once when I was saving someone that I needed to look more 'photogenic'. I'm glad the media really cares about what's happening." Clark said while laughing.

"Well, that's the reason I always thought you were conceded, because you stand there and pose for pictures." Clark just shook his head.

"It's okay. I really should get going though, I have class in 30 minutes." He said before getting up.

"You're in college? You save the world and go to school, I'm impressed." Lana said with a smirk.

"Well don't be, I can do my homework pretty fast, so it makes up for the time I spend helping people." He said while heading for the door.

"You can come by any time. I'm sure Mollie will get used to it after a while. She isn't usually like that." Lana said.

"Great, I might take you up on that offer." Clark said brightly before heading back to Kansas.


	5. Bullet Holes and Lex Luthor

When he entered his room, Pete was getting his things together for class.

"How did it go?" Pete said.

"Great! She said I could come over anytime I wanted. I also stopped a department store from being robbed. I finally got to use my ice breath. That was the first time in public." Clark said.

"So, you did interrupt your little time with Lana to get some work in eh?" Pete said jokingly.

"Yes Pete. I told you; I can save everyone." Clark said while laughing.

Pete just laughed and shook his head before heading to class. Clark changed and got ready for class too.

Later, while Clark was in class, his head started to ring, and he heard a gun go off and a crowd full of people scream. He sighed and quickly gathered his things and wrote the homework down before leaving the class. The teacher looked at him momentarily before going back to his lesson.

"Is there a problem here?" Clark said while landing on top of the Daily Planet building to see a man shooting a gun into the air.

"Just you." He snarled before shooting three gunshots into the air and watching as a helicopter came towards the building.

The helicopter landed and Clark went over to it curiously to see three men rush at him with guns. He sighed before walking at them again, only to feel one of the bullets pierce his skin and make him fall to the ground.

"Get him in the helicopter quickly!" A man in the front seat yelled at his henchmen. Clark was trying to get back up, and finally stumbled to his feet only to be hit by four more bullets right in his chest. He felt blood start to drip out of his mouth and his vision blur before starting to concentrate on breathing, each time it became harder.

The men lifted him into the helicopter as a Channel 9 copter made its way to the scene. They got footage of the men shooting Superman and dragging him off. The police down below the building watched in shock as the bullets hit Superman. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, one after another hit him, and then men could only stare. They were jolted out of their hypnotic state by their chief yelling at them to get up there. They all took the stairs and reached the roof as the mysterious helicopter took off. They shot aimlessly at it, but it was too late.

The news crew landed and started talking to the police officers about what they had seen.

"There you have it folks, Superman has been shot and abducted. The unknown helicopter is being pursued by the police, but no word on the identity of the men has been heard." A woman's voice said while they showed the helicopter taking off of the roof.

Clark could hear distant voices, but only bits and pieces of words. He couldn't think about anything, the darkness surrounding him seemed endless.

"He could wake up at any time. Those bullets won't kill him." One man said worriedly.

"Don't worry, the kryptonite is in his blood stream now, he won't be coming to for a while now. If he does at all." Another man assured him.

"But... he might not. What if he doesn't? What if we killed him? The boss doesn't want him dead." The first man said. Clark heard a slap and the first man gasp in pain.

"Stop being an idiot. He won't die. His body will heal, but very slowly. We have plenty of time." The second man said angrily.

Clark didn't hear anymore after that, he felt the constant stabs of pain pulse through him, and he knew that these men knew his weakness and that he was in trouble.

'What am I going to do. I can't stand this pain.' Clark thought to himself as he let out a barely audible groan. The men looked at him alarmed and quickly shot another bullet into him, silencing him for a few more hours.

Once the helicopter had landed, a car pulled out at the landing pad and Clark was hurtled inside. The drive ended a few minutes later when the vehicle pulled up to a gated mansion.

"We have him sir." The first man said into a speaker box outside the gate.

"Good." A voice said back before the gate creaked open and the car rolled forward.

Clark was dragged through the front door and down a long hall into what appeared to be an office.

"Welcome Superman." Clark knew that voice.

"Put him here, then get out." The man instructed. Clark was dropped rather forcefully and then the doors shut a few moments later.

"Well, look who is all powerful now. And to think, I thought I would never catch you." Clark definitely knew that voice.

"Lex..." Clark said weakly.

"That's right Clark. It's me."

"Why?" Clark said wearily before trying to open his eyes.

"I have always been jealous of you. You were always a mystery to me. After you decided to throw our friendship away, I decided that I would devote myself to making you wish you were dead. It took me so long to figure out how to do that. You were impervious to pain. Then I remembered a long time ago, when we were friends, a visit we took to Crater Lake. I remember you getting to sick that you almost passed out. I thought it strange that you would get so sick so suddenly, but I dismissed it at the time. It was only as I went back and saw the meteor fragments that I had sworn were glowing while we were there were not glowing anymore. I decided to look into them, and then, when you left for college and became Superman, your disguise couldn't fool me. I decided to see what kind of affect these bullets had on you." Lex said while holding a bullet that was glowing bright green.

"Looks like I was right."

"Lex, please." Clark pleaded, slowly gaining his strength back.

"I'm sorry Clark. We used to be friends, but you turned your back on me, so I'm afraid I will have to do the same thing while my men finish you off." Lex stated before shutting the doors as he walked out.

The doors opened again as the men from before walked in holding their guns. Clark unsteadily got up and turned to face him. He still felt like he was dying, but he stood up straight and gave them a confident smirk. The men looked nervous for a minute before remembering that they had guns. They opened fire, but the guns never went off. Clark smirked. When the men inspected their guns, they saw the safety was switched on. Clark took that opportunity to freeze them in place and quickly speed out the window.

He went back to his dorm quickly and made sure no one was there. Then he took off his outfit and inspected it. There were bullet holes all over the front. 'Just great.' He thought. 'Guess Mom will have to make me a new one.' Clark sighed before throwing it to the side and changing. He went over to his computer to see a message from Lana.

Tom'sAngel: Hey Clark. How's it going? Just wanted to let you know that you were right.

Clark smiled and wrote back.

_SuperDude: Hey. I'm glad to hear it. How did the meeting go?_

_Tom'sAngel: It was fine. He is so much nicer than I thought._

_SuperDude: That's great Lana. I have to get some studying done, so I'll ttyl. _

_SuperDude has signed off._

Clark smiled briefly but then remembered his near death encounter with Lex. He could still feel tiny traces of kryptonite rushing through him, and he could still see tiny bruises where the many bullets had gone through his chest.

'What am I going to do?' Clark asked himself while putting his head in his hands. Lex knew his secret and his weakness. This was going to be very bad.

Pete came back from class to see the discarded suit on the ground and Clark sulking in his room.

"What happened man!" Pete asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Lex happened. He found out that I am Superman and used kryptonite against me. I don't know what to do Pete!" Clark exclaimed.

"Listen man, we will figure something out. Don't worry. You need to get your suit fixed first or something." Pete said, looking down at the torn suit on the floor.

"Yeah I know, I'm going to get over to my parent's house in a few minutes." Clark said before picking up the torn suit and putting it on. The bullet holes were still there, and there were fragments of kryptonite in the fabric. Clark flinched; it felt like there were needles poking into him. He gave Pete a halfhearted smile before flying out of the room.

"Mom! Dad!" Clark called as he opened the door to the farmhouse.

"Clark? Is that you?" An older woman with hair that was once a radiant red, but now a faded gray color answered. She walked over to see Clark standing in the doorway with his Superman suit in his hand and a pair old sweatpants and a t-shirt on.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, referring to his suit.

"Actually mom, it got ripped, so I need a new one." Clark said, looking down sheepishly.

"Let me take a look at that one." She insisted.

"No, its okay." Clark said while trying to think of an excuse for her not to see the bullet holes.

"Oh my! Jonathan!" She yelled as she looked at the bullet holes.

"Yes Martha?" He said before smiling as he laid eyes on Clark.

"Son! What brings you here?"

"This!" Martha said in a worried tone. Jonathan looked stunned for a moment before taking the suit and observing the bullet holes.

"There is blood on this Clark. How did it get there?"

"It's nothing. Really." Clark assured them.

"That's not what I asked." Jonathan said sternly.

Clark sat down and told them about his abduction and the captors knowing his weakness. Jonathan and Martha both looked very concerned, but more shocked than anything when they learned that Lex was responsible.

"He knows who I am." Clark said in frustration.

"Clark, I told you from day one that Lex was bad news." Jonathan said while sighing in frustration.

"I know, but I didn't think he would do this. He might tell other people about me and my weakness if I don't do something." Clark said.

"Well, the first thing we need to do is get you a new suit." Martha said calmly.

"Clark, why don't you stay here for dinner." Clark nodded and Martha left Jonathan and his son to talk.

Back at the dorms, Pete was sitting on the couch in their small living area when he heard the 'ding' of Clark's computer. Pete sighed; this was the third time.

He turned off the TV and went into Clark's room to see that Tom'sAngel had IMed him several times. Pete looked around very quickly and decided to say hello briefly.

_SuperDude: Hello?_

_Tom'sAngel: Hey! Where have you been all night?_

_SuperDude: This is Pete, Clark's roommate._

_Tom'sAngel: He never told me he had a roommate. How long have you been roommates?_

Pete was shocked that Clark would fail to mention him.

_SuperDude: Almost four years, and we were friends since we were little._

_Tom'sAngel: Oh._

_SuperDude: I've heard a lot about you though._

_Tom'sAngel: Really? All good I hope._

'Alright Pete, this is your chance for revenge.' Pete smirked before typing.

_SuperDude: Actually, very good. He hasn't stopped talking about you since you two started talking last year._

_Tom'sAngel: Really? What does he say about me?_

_SuperDude: Well, this is a family friendly chat server, so I really couldn't say._

Pete laughed to himself.

_Tom'sAngel: That bad huh?_

_SuperDude: No, that good. Hehehehe. _

_Tom'sAngel: Maybe this is why he has never mentioned you._

_SuperDude: Well, he always said I was a little on the strange side..._

_Tom'sAngel: Yeah... I got to get going. Nice talking to you Pete._

_Tom'sAngel has signed off._

'Damn!' Pete said to himself, as he was about to sign off Clark's screen name.

He heard a noise coming from outside Clark's room, and he peaked out to see two men looking through some papers sitting out on the table. Pete fully opened the door to inquire as to why the people were in his dorm, but he was quickly blind-sided and a cloth was placed firmly over his face and he passed out.

The men were about to leave with Pete's body in tow but stopped when they heard a door open and a small 'ding' come from Clark's room.

One of the men motioned for the one with him to go check it out. When he got into the room, he saw an instant message from Tom'sAngel on the screen.


	6. House Guests and Vibes

Lex held a file in his hand and looked over at Pete in the chair opposite him. Pete was a little roughed up and his lip was bleeding and one of his eyes was swollen shut.

"Pete, I really didn't want to have to resort to this, but I need to know who this is." Lex said, holding up the printout of the most recent chat between Pete and Tom'sAngel.

"I don't know. I talked to her for less than a minute. I don't even know her name!" Pete yelled.

"You see Pete, you never were a great liar. I was surprised that Clark trusted you with his secret and not me. I can lie superbly, but you can barely keep a straight face. Now tell me what you know. You know her name, I know you do." Lex said calmly.

"I don't know anything!" Pete spat back. Lex sighed.

"Alright Pete, I really didn't want to resort to this. Listen, I'm not asking for her address and favorite food, just her name. If you can't remember in a few minutes, then my men here will have to try to jog your memory again." Pete still refused to give any information.

"Fine Pete, you are just doing this to yourself. I will have the name either way." Lex smirked.

"Alright! Pete said moments before the first blow was delivered to his stomach.

"Stop!" Lex ordered before the next blow came.

"Alright, talk." Lex ordered.

"Her name is Lana Lang." Pete said. Lex smiled before snapping his fingers. The henchmen untied Pete and escorted him out of the mansion.

"Thank you Mr. Ross. Give my regard to Clark when you see him." Lex said almost innocently.

Later that night, Clark returned home with his new suit and was shocked to see Pete on the couch, with bruises all over his face.

"Pete! What happened!" Clark exclaimed.

"Lex. He took me and then made me tell him who you were talking to online. I gave him the name, but only after his thugs roughed me up for an hour. I swear to God I didn't want to." Pete said, almost pleading his friend not to be angry.

"It's okay Pete. I just have to get to Lana before they do. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Wait... Clark. Where are you going to hide her? She will catch on to the fact that you are not only Superman, but Clark too. She knows about me. I chatted with her for a few minutes." Pete said guiltily.

"Alright umm... does she know your name?"

"Yeah." Clark sighed.

"Fine, you are now... John. Your name is John okay?" Clark asked.

"Whatever man. Don't you think here isn't a very safe place to have her? They know where you live."

"I know Pete. What should I do?" Clark inquired, realizing it wasn't a good idea to bring her there.

"Why don't you take her to your grandfather's?" Pete said hopefully.

"I couldn't, even though we are closer now. I still don't think that it would be a good idea. What about my parents? Would Lex look there?" Clark said, grasping for ideas.

"I don't know man, but probably not. I mean; he wouldn't draw attention to himself like that in such a small town." Pete said reassuringly.

"Okay, then you call my parents, I'll go get Lana." Clark said before Pete nodded. Clark waited until 8 o clock the next morning then ran out the door, tore his shirt off and flew into the air.

A few minutes later he landed right outside Lana's room and knocked politely.

"Just a second." Came the answer from the other side.

Mollie came to the door with a towel on her head. She quickly ripped it out in embarrassment and let Clark in.

"Lana should be back from class in a few minutes." Mollie said nervously.

"Can I get you anything? Hot Pocket?" She asked nervously.

"No thanks." Clark said while standing uncomfortably in the doorway.

"Well, take a seat, make yourself comfortable." Mollie said, ushering towards her room.

"Hey Mollie, you didn't pass out this time." Lana said while coming in the front door. Clark quickly went to grab her books from her but she just shook her head and headed into her room.

"Come here." She said once she was inside. Clark walked into her room and sat down on her bed.

"Lana, I actually need to talk to you. I don't know how to say this, but someone saw me here, someone who is out to get me. These people know my weakness and they are using it against me. They already attacked my roommate, and I'm afraid that they will come after you too. My roommate told me that the guy asked him about you, so I was hoping you would let me hide you somewhere for a few days, just until I could figure this all out." Clark said quickly. Lana's eyes kept getting wider as he talked.

"You're telling me you want me to hide somewhere because you THINK someone might try to attack me?" Lana responded.

"Well, yes. I don't want you to get into the same predicament as my roommate. Please Lana. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think it was totally necessary." Clark practically begged.

Lana sighed before rubbing her temples counter-clockwise.

"I can't believe this. Just because I've talked to you a few times." Lana said mostly to herself. He wasn't going to tell her that it was from the chats they had, then she would know his identity and be in even more danger.

"How long would I have to hide? Is Mollie in danger?"

"I don't know and maybe. If she will agree to it, you can bring her with you. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me." Clark said, his last attempt at persuasion. It worked, Lana's eyes softened a bit and she sat down on the bed next to Clark.

"I don't blame you. I will go, but Mollie has to come too." Lana said while taking Clark's hand in hers. Clark looked longingly into her eyes and just slightly nodded his head.

"Great!" Lana said, getting up suddenly. Clark jumped a little bit.

"Where are we going?" Lana asked.

"Well, you two are going to my parent's house." Clark said.

"Really! Where are they?" Lana asked curiously.

"Smallville, Kansas. It's a really small town about three hours from Metropolis." Lana's eye lit up.

"Metropolis! I've always wanted to go there. I know someone that's going to Metropolis U!" Lana exclaimed excitedly.

"Well maybe after its safe, you can take a trip up there and see them." Lana nodded as Clark just smiled. She then started to pack a bag to take with her and inform Mollie of the situation. She was more than happy to get away to Superman's house.

"This will be so cool! What if I get to stay in his room! I mean... the room he grew up in!" She exclaimed while getting out of the car at the farm.

"Yeah well, let's just see what kind of people they are first." Lana said less enthusiastically.

"I'm sure they're great." Mollie reassured her before stepping up to the porch.

A petite woman answered the door with a welcoming smile on her face.

"Hello, you must be Mollie and Lana." She said before opening the screen door. "Come in!" She said enthusiastically while ushering them inside. Mollie was shaking with excitement, while Lana was wearing a polite smile to hide her nervousness.

"Hello Mrs." Lana trailed off.

"Kent. I'm Martha Kent, and my husband should be in any moment." She said warmly. As she was attempting to take their bags for them, a loud 'whish!' sound came through the door and there Clark stood in all his glory, cape flying behind him.

"Hey guys, I trust you found it okay?" He asked. Martha went up to her son and gave him a big hug.

"Hi son!" Said a voice from behind.

"Hey dad." Clark said while trying to detach himself from his mother.

"I trust that these are the two young ladies?" He asked before sticking his hand out. "Jonathan Kent." He said while shaking their hands.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Kent." Lana said, slowly getting less nervous.

"You can call me Jonathan. You are Lana?" He asked, surveying both of them and trying to decide which was which.

"Yes, and this is my roommate Mollie." Lana answered. Mollie waved shyly.

"Well then, we better get you two set up." He said brightly while taking one suitcase while Clark took the rest.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Clark turned into his bedroom briefly and removed the few photos he had sitting out and directed them across the hall to the guest bedroom.

"If you two don't want to share a room, one of you is free to take mine. I don't usually sleep in there anyways." Clark said while holding the luggage in one hand easily.

"Mollie, do you want a room to yourself?" Lana asked.

"Sure. No offence or anything." Mollie said, hoping she would get Clark's room.

"No problem. Which room can I have?" Lana asked, looking up at Clark.

"You can take my room, dad, could you show Mollie the guest room." Mollie's jaw fell open in disappointment and she visibly slumped over to the guest room behind Mr. Kent. Lana just shrugged and gave her friend an apologetic smile. Mollie just sneered and entered her room.

Lana followed Clark into his room and noticed right away the very clean look it had to it. 'I guess it would since he is in college' Lana thought to herself. Clark put her bags down gently beside the bed and headed back for the door.

"Hey, Superman. I was just wondering. Could I ask you a question?" Lana asked anxiously. Clark turned around.

"Sure I guess." He said while shrugging.

"What's your name? I feel kind of weird referring to you as Superman in front of your parents." Lana said quickly.

"Oh, well, some of my old friends used to call me Kal." He said slowly.

"Great, g'night Kal." She said sweetly as he shut the door.

"Night." He said through the door. He walked down the stairs briskly and was met with two knowing grins from his parents.

"What?" Clark said innocently.

"I'm getting a vibe from you Clark." Jonathan said.

"A vibe? What kind of vibe?" Clark asked.

"You like one of our house guests don't you?" Jonathan said with a grin.

"Maybe." Clark said cryptically.

"That's not why they are here. They are here because of Lex. I need to get this straightened out. If he comes by here, just... play dumb, and I will try to get here as quick as possible." Clark's parents nodded and Clark changed out of his uniform and into a pair of boxers and a wife beater.

"I guess I'm in the loft for the time being. I will be up at the usual time to help dad with some chores tomorrow." Clark said before grabbing a glass of water and heading out to the loft.

"Good night Clark." Martha called, which caused Clark to turn around.

"Oh yeah, I told Lana my name was Kal, so just go with it." Clark said before turning around and heading back outside. Martha shook her head and headed up to bed.


	7. Showers and The Talon

The next morning Clark got up early to finish all of the chores before his father got up. He was taking his time with his last few chores, enjoying the simplicity of just working on the farm again. He sighed as he saw his parent's room light turn on from the loft and he made his way back into the house.

"Good morning Clark, you're up early." Martha said as Clark entered the kitchen.

"Kal mom." Clark reminded while smiling.

"Yes well, Lana isn't up yet, so I can call you by the name we gave you." She said with a smile. Jonathan entered the kitchen and saw Clark standing there drinking orange juice right out of the bottle.

'Some things never change.' Jonathan thought to himself as he started to go outside.

"Actually dad, I already did everything for you. I also fixed that tractor. You'd think after all this time you would buy a new one." Clark laughed as Jonathan just shook his head.

"She's still got a few years left in her." Jonathan defended.

'Some things never change.' Clark thought as he headed upstairs to take a shower.

"Clark, where are you going?"

"I'm taking a shower. I worked up a little sweat doing the chores."

"Aren't you forgetting that you are currently without a room?" Jonathan reminded.

"I will just sneak in and sneak out really quickly." Clark said while continuing to climb the stairs.

He sped through the room into the bathroom and stripped down quickly and retreated into the shower. When he turned the water on, Lana roused from her sleep and looked around the room. She saw the light from under the bathroom door and heard the water running.

'What the heck.' Lana said to herself as she got up and got closer to the door. As she was almost touching the knob on the door, it opened and Clark barged out in nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around his waist.

Lana fought to keep breathing at the sight of his bare chest. She felt slightly warmer and stumbled backwards. Clark just stood deathly still.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I needed to take a quick shower." Clark started.

"No... its okay." Lana said weakly, still ogling his chest. The steamy water was still dripping from his messy hair down his neck to his abs and then disappearing under his towel.

"Alright well... I guess I should just... yeah." Clark said shakily. He stumbled backwards out the door and almost fell over, but held himself up.

Once down the stairs, he started to slow his breathing down, realizing for the first time that his heart had been racing.

'Phew!' He thought as he headed back to the loft to get another pair or pants and a shirt.

Once he was properly attired, he came back into the house to see Lana standing in the kitchen with Mrs. Kent.

"What are you two up to?" Clark said as both of them jumped.

"I thought I would make our guests something to eat for breakfast, but this one insisted on helping." Martha said lightheartedly as Lana turned around and smiled.

"I should be making breakfast to thank Mrs. Kent for her hospitality." Lana defended while once again trying to reach into the fridge.

"Ah!" Mrs. Kent said, making Lana retract her hand and look somewhat disappointed.

"I guess I will just sit this one out." She said, retreating to the table. Clark smiled and joined her.

"Don't worry, when it comes to the kitchen, that is Martha Kent territory." Clark whispered, making Lana laugh.

"Alright you two, get some plates out and get some food." Martha said while turning off the stove. They got up and were heading into the kitchen when Mollie stumbled down the stairs sleepily.

"I cannot believe the ungodly hours that you are up Lana." Mollie exclaimed, holding her head as she slumped across the room.

"Mollie, its 9:00." Lana stated.

"I know. We are out of school indefinitely, and you get up before noon?" She replied weakly. Lana just shook her head and handed her weary friend a plate.

"Morning Mollie." Clark said while reaching to get some food.

Her head shot up and she started blushing furiously.

"Morning." She said wistfully. Lana saw the immediate change and stifled the laughter that was threatening to come.

"Did we wake you sweety?" Martha replied warmly.

"No ma'am." Mollie said quickly.

"Well, we have eggs, bacon, pancakes and hash browns. Help yourself." Martha finished before leaving the three of them to themselves.

"So, not a morning person I take it?" Clark asked no one in particular.

"Not even close." Mollie stated while getting some eggs and shoveling them onto her plate.

"Well, I can be more quiet in the mornings so I don't wake you up tomorrow." Clark suggested while looking at Lana.

"I'm fine, you've got to shower too don't you." Lana stated factually. Mollie almost choked out the food she was eating and grabbed Lana by the arm, ushering her out of the room.

"You saw him in the shower!" Mollie screamed under her breath.

"Mollie, he's right over there." Lana said, rolling her eyes at her friend's ignorance.

"I want to know now!" Mollie hissed back. Lana just sighed.

"No I didn't. Okay." Lana said before turning around and heading back over to where Clark was sitting.

"Sorry, she just... I can't really think of an excuse for her, so I won't." Lana said with smile, causing Clark to laugh. Lana watched his eyes light up with amusement as he laughed and couldn't help but stare at him. She was unaware of the fact that she was looking because Clark waving a hand in front of her face quickly brought her out of her fixed stare.

"Earth to Lana." Clark said while Lana quickly averted her eyes.

"Sorry." She muttered quietly.

"Don't worry about it. So, I thought you might want to go around and see the town a bit." Clark offered.

"Sure. I've always lived in a big city. It would be nice to see how the other half lives." Lana said with a smile, moving from her seat towards Clark.

"Great, lets go then." Clark said, trying not to sound too excited.

"Wait for me!" They both heard come from upstairs. A frantic Mollie ran down the stairs with one arm in her shirt and in the middle of pulling her hair back.

'How does she do that?' Lana thought to herself as Mollie stopped in front of them and finished her hair and adjusted her shirt. She was panting slightly, but regained her composure.

"Alright, ladies first." Clark said politely. Mollie squealed with excitement and Lana gave Clark an apologetic smile. He just gave her an its-no-problem look and headed out behind them.

Clark started to make his way towards the road and Mollie stopped.

"Where's your car?" She said, looking around.

"Well, I don't usually use one, so I thought we could walk, unless you want to take your car." Clark said.

"No, we can walk." Mollie said quickly, strolling over and looping her arm through Clark's. Lana felt a slight twinge but laughed it off and walked on the other side of Mollie, listening to Mollie rattle on about how she was Superman's biggest fan.

"Well I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, but really, I'm not that great." Clark said, looking down. Mollie looked like she was bordering on a heart attack.

"What do you mean!" She exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Well, if anyone else had my powers, they would be able to do the same thing, so I don't see it as extraordinary." He said shrugging. Lana was shocked at how humble he was being.

"Well..." Mollie started but just stopped talking. They walked in silence for while. Lana was about to say something when they saw the town ahead. The street had a few cars parked on it, and the most popular place seemed to be a coffee shop.

"That's the store my friend owns." Clark said, pointing towards the shop.

They walked in and immediately the sweet smell of coffee assaulted their nostrils and made Clark breathe in heavily.

"Clark?" Someone asked out of nowhere. A blonde head popped up and the owner was wearing an enormous grin on her face.

"Clark!" She yelled as she rushed over to where he was standing with the two girls and ran into his arms. He laughed and gave her a hug before putting her down.

"How did you get here!" The blonde yelled excitedly. Clark just continued to smile.

"I walked, Chloe." He said with a smile. Mollie nudged his arm and Clark looked down and remembered to introduce his guests.

"I'm sorry, this is Mollie, and that is Lana. This is my best friend, Chloe." He said as they all acknowledged each other.

"I thought you said your name was Kal." Lana said suddenly.

"It is, but Chloe can't ever remember my real name, so she just uses a nickname." Clark said, looking at a clearly confused Chloe. She just nodded and turned back to the counter, motioning for them to follow her.

Lana looked at Clark curiously for a moment before deciding to shrug it off and follow them. When they reached the counter, Chloe was whipping around with three mocha frappucinos in hand.

"On the house." Chloe said with a wink before placing them on the counter and returning to her customers.

"She seems nice." Lana commented once they had found a seat.

"She's the best." Clark said while looking around the small coffee house.

"How long has it been since you have been back here?" Lana asked curiously.

"Oh I don't know, a long time, at least a year. I'm in college right now, so I don't get many breaks to come home." Clark explained sadly.

"I know what you mean. I barely ever see my mother or father." Lana said in agreement. Mollie just stared at them.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I love being away from my mother. I couldn't stand her! She made me slave away while she just sat around, but now I'm free!" Mollie stated enthusiastically.

"Mollie, doing chores isn't considered slaves work." Lana reasoned. She had heard Mollie's little 'I'm free' speech before.

"Yes it is. Just because you were an obedient little kid doesn't mean we all were." Mollie said indignantly. Lana just rolled her eyes and averted her attention back to Clark.

"So, now that you know about Mollie's dramatic childhood, what about you. Were you always, you know." Lana finished.

"Yes. I was always strong. I didn't start gaining speed or anything until later in life. In fact, only a few weeks ago I got another power, so I'm still growing I guess." Clark explained.

"Does anyone know your real identity?" Mollie asked in a hushed tone, trying to be discreet.

"A few people. One of my old friends knew about me before anyone, and we still stay in touch, then there is Chloe. She has known for about three years. I told her before college and we have been better friends for it." He said with a smile.

"Did you and Chloe ever date?" Mollie asked bluntly, knowing that Lana was wondering the same thing.

"Actually we did. I asked her to one spring formal freshmen year and we decided after that to just be good friends." Clark said dismissively.

Lana exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding and felt relief wash over her.

"Alright, that's good." Mollie said, trying her best to make it obvious, but not TOO obvious that she had a thing for him. Needless to say, Clark saw through that.

"Right well, we should probably head back to the farm. I'm just going to say goodbye to Chloe before we go." Clark said before hastily dismissing himself and heading over to the counter again.

"Chloe, we are going to get going. You should stop by the farm for dinner. Remember, I'm Kal." Clark said as Chloe just nodded and smile.

"I guess I will see you and your girlfriends around 7 then." Chloe said with a smile.

"Neither is my girlfriend." Clark corrected quickly.

"Sure thing Kal." She said, emphasizing his name.

"Alright, see you later." Clark said cheerily before heading back towards the booth the trio had been sitting at.

"Lets head back. Dinner should be in a few hours and I need to do some work before then." Clark said while getting up. He thought for a moment and then turned back around.

"On second thought, you two could stay here and look around if you wanted and I could come pick you up later if you wanted." Clark suggested.

"I want to stay and see the town." Mollie said anxiously.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Lana asked, hoping Mollie wouldn't care.

"Actually, I was going to do some independent explorations, so you can do whatever." Mollie said passively.

"Well, I think I'm going to head back and help Mrs. Kent with dinner. You have fun Mo, I'll meet you back up here at 6 and we can head back to get cleaned up." Lana said before following Clark out onto the street.

"You don't want to have a look around?" Clark asked as Lana fell into step next to him.

"Maybe tomorrow, we will probably be here for a while." Lana said, sighing.

"I'm really sorry Lana. I really didn't mean for this to happen. I never should have done what I did; I have to many enemies to be in any relationships." He ended sadly.

"I don't blame you. I know you will figure this out as soon as you can." Lana finished confidently. Clark smiled and slowly lowered his hand to where hers was swinging by her side and took it gently in his. Lana felt her face start to heat up, but kept her eyes ahead as if nothing was wrong.


	8. Car Doors and Full Moons

There was silence all the way back to the Kent farm, and neither Lana nor Clark minded. When they reached the back door, Clark let go of Lana's hand and opened the screen door casually and held it open for Lana.

"Thanks." Lana said softly as she entered the house and was met with the pleasant smells of dinner cooking. Clark came in and said a brief hello to his mom before heading out to get some chores done before dinner.

"Mrs. Kent, I was wondering if you needed any help." Lana said meekly as she entered the kitchen to find the middle-aged woman pulling what looked like chicken out of the oven.

"Sure Hun, could you grab those oven mitts over there." She said while pointing at the kitchen counter. Lana hastily got them and handed them to Martha as she lifted the concoction out of the oven.

"Thank you dear." Martha said with a smile. They both got to work with various things for dinner for the next few hours. When Lana looked down at her watch, she saw that it was already 6:45 and she hadn't picked up Mollie yet. She apologized for having to leave and darted to her car. She was about to open the door and she saw something that made her stop mid step and forget her own name.

Clark was walking out of the barn, his shirt hooked on one of his belt loops and his hands over his head as he stretched them. Lana gulped and tried to reel her jaw back in as he approached.

"Where are you going?" He said casually, he obviously didn't notice the way she was gawking at him or he chose to ignore it.

"I... I have to... Mollie." Lana finished lamely as she turned her back on him and continued to her car. She stopped again when she felt his warm breath near her ear.

"Alright, dinner should be ready by 7, mom never likes a late dinner." He said before heading inside. Lana took a deep breath and tried to keep her body under control as she shook slightly.

'Just get in the car and get Mollie.' Lana said to herself as she opened the door to her little Infinite and hit her head on the top of the door jam.

"Oww!" She yelped before falling backwards. She saw a hazy figure move towards her and thought she heard Clark calling her name.

"Lana! Lana wake up!" Clark said while gently lifting Lana off of the ground. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she saw the most gorgeous eyes ever staring back at her.

"Are you okay?" He asked slowly.

"What? Yeah, I just hit my head." Lana said before realizing how close to Clark she was.

"You sure. You might have a concussion. You should probably go inside." Clark said while starting to carry her onto the porch.

"I have to go get Mollie." Lana muttered.

"I'll get her, you need to lay down." Clark said worriedly. Lana just nodded before passing out.

"Mom!" Clark yelled as he entered the house.

"What happened?" The woman asked as she saw Lana hanging limply in Clark's arms.

"She hit her head on her door and I think she has a concussion. I need to go get Mollie, will you watch her for a little bit?" He asked quickly. His mother nodded and he set her down on the couch and started for the door quickly.

Without thinking, Clark super sped to the main stretch and stopped in the back alley of the Talon before casually coming out to the front to see Mollie waiting with another frappuccino in hand.

"Sorry Mollie, Lana hit her head getting into her car and I wasn't going to let her drive." Clark explained as Mollie almost spilled coffee all over herself.

"That's fine." She said while getting up.

"Where's the car?" She said while raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I kind of... ran." He said before thinking about how to get her home.

"How do I get home then?" Mollie asked.

"I guess I will just have to carry you." Clark stated finally. Mollie almost choked on the last of her frap as an eerily large smile played across her face. She threw away the rest of her icy beverage.

"Alright! Lets go." Mollie said with a little too much enthusiasm.

Clark picked her up easily and ran as fast as kryptonianly possible back to his house. Once they were on the porch, he put her down and hastily went inside. Mollie just stood on the porch for about five minutes, smiling into space. Once she realized she was still outside, she opened the door and ran up to the guest room.

"Dinner is ready!" Martha called from the kitchen. Lana walked shakily out of the living room and towards the dining room. She almost fell, but a strong pair of arms kept her balance steady all the way to the table.

"Thanks Kal." She said while he scooted her chair in.

"No problem." Clark said while helping his mom bring out plates of food.

"Where did Mollie go?" Lana asked once all the food was on the table and they waited for Mollie to come back down stairs.

"She rushed upstairs when we got home." Clark said while shrugging his shoulders. They heard someone bounce down the steps and waited patiently for her to enter the dining room. She was humming pleasantly to herself and took her seat, ignoring everyone staring at her.

"What took you so long?" Lana asked once they had started eating.

"Oh, I had to document my latest experience." Mollie said cryptically.

"You had to gush to your diary?" Lana asked in disbelief.

"We waited for you so you could write in your diary." Lana said while rolling her eyes. Mollie just ignored her and continued to eat.

"Hey Kal, how fast can you run?" Mollie asked anxiously. Lana gave Clark a questioning look. He was about to answer when there was a knock at the door.

"Hey Chloe, we were just getting started. I thought you had changed your mind." Clark said while letting the peppy blonde into the room.

"Hey guys. Sorry I'm late. I had to close for Michelle because she had to get to her second job early tonight." Chloe explained.

"Not a problem. Nice to see you Chloe." Mr. Kent said warmly.

"You too Mr. Kent." Chloe replied while taking a seat.

"So... how fast?" Mollie continued once they were all sitting again. Lana sighed as Clark shrugged.

"I honestly don't know." He answered before shoving a larger than average bite of food into his mouth to have an excuse to not answer questions for the next few minutes.

"Not even a guess?" Mollie inquired, still insisting on knowing. Clark just shook his head, his cheeks puffed out because they were full of food. Lana stifled the laughter that was threatening to come out at seeing him like that.

They continued to eat, Mollie asking Clark a question every time he swallowed. After dinner was finally over, Lana and Mollie headed upstairs and Mollie pushed Lana into the guest room.

"He carried me home." Mollie whispered once the door was closed.

"Why are you whispering?" Lana said normally.

"I don't know. That's not the point, he carried me home." Mollie said, still in a whisper.

"Still whispering, and good for you." Lana said while heading for the door.

"That's why I had to write in my diary. It was so cool, it was like a huge burst of wind and BOOM we were here." Mollie exclaimed. Lana just rolled her eyes and headed out of the room.

"You are just jealous!" Mollie yelled through the door as Lana went back into her, or rather Kal's room.

"Hey Lana. I thought I would ask this time before barging in. Can I take a quick shower? Three minutes tops." Clark asked.

"It's your bathroom. I'll just go downstairs for a bit." Lana said before heading back down the stairs to the living room. She wished he hadn't of asked her, then she would have had an excuse to see him with just a towel on again.

When Clark has finished his shower, he climbed the steps of the loft and noticed Lana standing at the open window, staring at the sunset.

"Hey Lana." Clark said gently while coming up next to her. Lana smiled.

"Hey Kal." She said while still looking at the sunset.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Clark asked softly, leaning down to be roughly the same height as her.

"It's amazing. We don't get views like his in New York." Lana said wistfully.

"That's a shame." Clark replied as Lana just nodded her head.

"There is an ever better place to watch the sunset, if you want to check it out." Clark suggested innocently. Lana's smile grew bigger and she just nodded her head.

Clark put his arms around Lana's waist and slowly began to lift off the ground. He steered them out of the window and over the house to see the vibrant reds, yellows, and purples mix together to make a collage in the sky.

Lana felt all the air in her lungs dissipate as Clark's arms wrapped around her and she was lifted gently into the air. The view was breathtaking in itself, without the added affect of Clark's intoxicating presence.

"This is... unbelievable." Lana said almost in a whisper.

"I've seen better." Clark said while looking right into Lana's eyes.

"So have I." Lana replied softly, leaning up to reach Clark's lips in a tender kiss.

"What the hell are you two doing up there!" Mollie's voice broke them out of their thoughts and they both looked down to see Mollie and... Pete?

Clark quickly, but gently, brought them back to the ground and Clark gave Pete a bewildered look.

"What are you doing here?" Clark asked after a moment of silence between the four of them.

"I came to see you. I mean, you just left the other day, and I haven't heard from you since. I was starting to get nervous." Pete said, grinning at the obvious events that had just transpired between Clark and Lana.

"Oh well, I'm still waiting. Lex has probably already searched NYU and when he realizes I got to them first, he will send a messenger of some kind here to see if they are in town." Clark responded.

"Right well, what are you going to do when that happens?" Clark just shrugged.

"I figured I would play it by ear." Pete shook his head and put his hands up in a Why-do-I-even-try gesture.

"What?"

"Nothing, you just... it doesn't seem like the wisest idea, that's all." Pete explained lamely.

"Oh well." Clark said with a shrug before walking into the house.

An hour after their conversation, a knock broke through the silence of the house.

"I'll get it." Clark yelled from his room. He ran down the stairs and hastily made his way to the door.

"Can I help you?" He asked as he swung the door open to see a man dressed as a salesmen holding a briefcase and looking into the house.

"Oh yes, I was wondering if you would be interested in this perfume." The man said innocently, holding up a bottle.

"I'm not the perfume wearing kind of guy." Clark stated simply, trying to shut the door.

"Well, I realize that... perhaps your girlfriend." The man suggested. Clark knew what he was here about, but decided to play dumb.

"I don't have a girlfriend, but thanks for reminding me." He said offensively.

"A mother maybe?"

"She died about a year ago, and I don't need to be reminded of that either, so if you will excuse me." Clark stated, shutting the door and heading back up the stairs, leaving the man in question looking through the window at his retreating form.


	9. Cousins and Contraband

"We'll have to try something a little less subtle then, I know he has her." Lex stated, looking at the man who had, just moments ago, been at the Kent residence.

"What do you suggest?" The man stated doubtfully.

"Well, we need to send someone he can respond to." Lex explained simply.

"Who do you suggest?"

"Me." Lex said while getting up and leaving the room.

The next morning, Lex stood outside the Kent house and knocked politely. He appeared to be in a pleasant mood, but looks can always be deceiving.

"Mrs. Kent." Lex said almost sweetly as he handed her a bouquet of flowers.

"Lex." She said in a tone that clearly showed disapproval.

"I was wondering if Clark was around, I need to speak to him about a personal matter." Lex said, getting down to business.

"He should be coming back from doing his chores any second." Martha said, obviously uncomfortable.

"I'll wait outside Mrs. Kent." Lex said with a smile. Martha nodded her head and Lex stepped outside into the cool crisp morning.

"Lex." Clark said while walking back to the house.

"Hello Clark. I trust you got my less subtle attempt to coax Lana out of you last night?"

"Yes I did. I don't know why you bothered coming, she isn't here." Clark stated while looking into the house. Lex followed his gaze and saw a girl walking out onto the porch like she had been caught in headlights.

"Sorry." She muttered.

"It's alright. Come here." Clark said, gesturing for her to stand next to him.

"Lana, I presume." Lex said while extending his hand.

"I'm not Lana." The girl said.

"You sure about that."

"Yep, pretty sure." She stated in an annoyed tone.

"Then whom might you be?"

"I'm Mollie. Not so nice to meet you." She said, giving him a fake smile to match his own.

"Pleasure is all mine."

"This is what you came all the way out here for, you saw my cousin and assumed that it was this... Lana." Clark said, pretending to search for her name.

Lex smirked.

"You really think I'm that stupid? I know she is here, it's only a matter of time before I can bribe the police to get a search warrant, I'll find her, don't you worry." Lex stated smugly.

"We'll see." Clark spat back, watching Lex pull away in his trademark silver Porche.

"Why did you tell him that I was your cousin?" Mollie asked once they were inside.

"I couldn't tell him that you knew Lana at all, or he would be even more suspicious." Clark explained while heading into the kitchen.

"Then how did you know that Lana wouldn't waltz right down the stairs instead of me?" Clark shrugged.

"Just lucky I guess." Clark said while stuffing some toast into his mouth. As he was munching down on the crumbly piece of bread, Lana walked down the stairs to join the two in the kitchen.

"Morning." She muttered, grabbing for the orange juice that was out on the counter.

"What's up?" She said, looking from Clark to Mollie.

"Nothing." They both said at the same time.

"Okay." She said in a Yeah-right tone before she headed for the table and sat down.

"Has anyone seen Pete?" She asked out of the blue.

"He usually sleeps late. Why?" Clark asked curiously.

"No reason, I was going to see if he wanted to do something today." Lana said casually, while sipping her orange juice.

"Oh." Clark said casually. Lana resisted the urge to smile at his obvious jealousy.

"What's the matter Kal?" She asked teasingly.

"A whole lot of nothing." He stated, his hands fidgeting at his sides.

"Okay." Lana said sarcastically as Clark stormed upstairs.

"What's up man?" Pete asked as Clark stormed into his room.

"I'm going to kill you Pete!" Clark said while seizing the defenseless Pete.

"Whoa man! Calm down. First, put me down, then we can talk about this." Pete said calmly, while Clark lowered his friend back to the ground.

"Okay, now what's wrong?" Pete asked, sitting down.

"Lana wants to go out with you today, and..." Clark couldn't finish before Pete interjected.

"She wants to what!" Pete said enthusiastically.

"Not now Pete." Clark said, looking at his friend wearily.

"I knew it. I could almost sense it through the computer that one day we talked. I am a chick magnet." Pete proclaimed pinching the front of his shirt and letting it go while nodding his head smugly.

"Pete!" Clark said while raising his hands.

"Yes my chick challenged friend. What can I do for you on this fine day?" Pete said haughtily.

"Cut the crap Pete." Clark stated while trying to seize his 'friend' again.

"In the words of Will Smith, don't hate the player, hate the game." Pete said before brushing Clark off and heading downstairs.

Clark just sat back on his bed and sighed.

Pete flounced down the stairs and strode purposefully over to Lana.

"Hey." He said confidently. Lana just rolled her eyes and got up.

"Pete, I was just messing with Kal, sorry to burst your bubble." Lana said while laughing at the dejected look on Pete's face.

"Wh...what?" He said hopelessly.

"You'll live." She said before heading up the stairs. Pete just stood where he was, shell shocked at his sudden misfortune. Mollie came up behind him and patted his back before following Lana up the stairs.

"Oh Lana..." Mollie sang as she rushed up to Lana's side.

"Yes?" She answered, not looking back.

"I think someone has a crush." She sang merrily as she looked Lana in the eyes.

"Wha... what do you mean. I don't have a crush on Kal." She fumbled. Mollie gave her a curious look.

"I meant Pete has a crush on you, but I'll hold that thought. What!" Mollie said calmly. Lana looked half embarrassed half shocked.

"Well, I..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Wow, we are SO talking about this... but not before I write it down." Mollie mumbled excitedly while racing to the guest room.

Lana sighed and went into Clark's room to lie down. She didn't bother turning the light on and slumped down on the bed to be met by another body moving on the bed.

"Whoa!" Lana yelped as she stood up, she rushed for the lights. She saw that Clark was sitting there staring into space.

"Kal? What are you doing up here?" She wondered aloud.

"Sorry." He mumbled, sitting up and adjusting to the light.

"No problem, I just, came in here to get... a pen." Lana finished lamely, grabbing the small writing instrument in her hand and leaving the room. Clark watched her leave and then followed her out of the room. He looked down the hall at Mollie's closing door, and he decided he should talk to Lana. He walked down the hall and was about to knock when he heard something that peaked his interests.

"Alright, spill... how long have you had a crush on Kal?"

Clark stopped short of knocking and listened. He knew he shouldn't but this was something he had to hear.

"Well I... I think your imagination is getting the best of you." Lana stated defensively.

"Is that so? Well, shall we just go back to last night?" Mollie quipped.

"No." Lana said softly.

"Then just admit it. I won't tell." Mollie coaxed.

"Fine. I might have a thing for him. I just feel like I'm cheating on Clark though. I mean, I know we never really decided that we were going to go out, but I mean, I just thought there was something there." Lana explained weakly.

"No offense, but Kal is way better." Mollie stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"How can you say that? Clark is so sweet and caring."

"Yeah well, so is Kal." Mollie finished, standing up and going over to her dresser.

"I know. They are so much alike that it's surreal. Maybe that is why I like Kal, because he reminds me of what I think Clark would be like in person." Lana thought aloud.

"Maybe. If you decide that Clark isn't for you and Kal is, I will totally jump on that opportunity, so don't think he will be left alone." Mollie admitted shamelessly.

"I just don't know. I mean, I have known Clark a lot longer; I just get this feeling around Kal. I think I should wait until I meet Clark and decide after we have talked in person." Lana concluded, watching as Mollie scribbled furiously in her diary.

Clark's face split into a huge grin. He couldn't believe she liked him and... well... him.

"Hey Kal! Get down here man!" Pete shouted from downstairs.

Clark whirled around and sped for the stairs. Once he was safely out of range of the girls' room, he slowed his pace to a steady walk and went down the stairs and into the kitchen where Pete was still standing.

"What's wrong?" Clark asked, startling his friend in the process.

"Oh, not much. I just thought you should know that there is a sheriff and a certain bald billionaire standing outside the door." Pete said as if stating that the laundry was done.

"What! Where!" Clark asked frantically.

"Sheriff and Lex Luthor, over by the door." Pete repeated, this time pointing to the door. Clark ran to the door just as the sheriff started knocking.

"Can I help you?" Clark said almost calmly.

"We got a call that you were experimenting with illegal drugs on the premises and have a warrant to search for any contraband." She said while holding up the paper.

"Drugs? That was the best you could come up with Lex?" Clark said hotly as Lex shrugged and smirked.

"I'm going to have to check the upstairs, you can follow me if you want to." The sheriff said before going up the stairs.

"This is ridiculous, I don't do drugs!" Clark screamed while they went up the stairs.

"You have no right to search my house!" He yelled louder, trying to provide the girls with some sort of warning that they were going to need to hide.

Lana and Mollie's heads shot up as they heard Clark arguing with a woman, heading steadily down the hallway.

"Don't you think you should check my room first, since you are accusing me of doing drugs?" Clark asked as the sheriff passed his room.

She turned around, nodded, and went into his room. She looked around for a few minutes, finding no signs of anything amiss, then continued on with her search.

By the time she reached the guest room, there was no one in sight. The window was slightly ajar, but nothing too obvious to suggest that the girls had escaped, or that they had been there. None of Mollie's things were lying out and the bed was made neatly. The room looked like it hadn't been used in years.

After a thorough search of the house, the sheriff apologized to Clark and then made her leave of the premises.

"Well, I guess that was pretty useless." Clark stated arrogantly.

"On the contrary, I got just what I was looking for." Lex said with a smirk.

A van pulled up and sped off of the farm with two girls screaming desperately inside. All the blood in Clark's body gathered in his face and he went stark red.

"If you hurt them, I swear I will not hesitate to kill you." Clark said through clenched teeth.

"Now Clark, if you will come with me quietly, without making a big deal about it, we can arrange a way for us all to get out of this happy." Lex said calmly, pointing towards his car. Clark reluctantly followed and sat in the passenger side. The car pulled out and sped down the road towards the infamous Luthor mansion.


	10. Broken Ribs and Jail Breaks

The trip was silent. Clark was thinking about what Lex could possibly gain from taking Lana. He knew Clark's weakness, all he would have to do was shoot him enough and he would die, which is ultimately what Lex wanted, wasn't it?

When they reached the mansion, Lex pulled into one of the doors in his garage and turned off the engine.

"Follow me please." Lex said, acting like a host.

"Sure." Clark mumbled.

They walked through the house; Clark's heart was beating in his ears in rhythm with the clank of Lex's expensive shoes on the hard wood floors.

Lex led Clark into a room where Lana and Mollie were tied in chairs near a large window.

"Alright Superman." Lex started, immediately changing his personality from almost charming to evil.

"I'm sure you are thinking about why I didn't just kill you when I had the chance right?" He said, waiting for Clark to answer. When he saw a small glint of curiosity in Clark's eyes, he continued.

"If you were dead, I would accomplish my life's mission, but then I got to thinking. You would be a much more valuable asset to me alive. Think of the havoc I could reek if I had someone as powerful as you to do my dirty work." Lex said, rubbing his palms together ominously.

"If that's what you want from me, you can forget it." Clark stated simply, completely refusing.

"You say that now, but what if I do this?" Lex snapped his fingers and a man came from behind Clark and pulled a gun from under his jacket and stood behind Lana with it placed firmly against her temple. Clark hesitated before speaking, Lex clearly seeing the reaction he had hoped to invoke.

"What did they ever do to you? If you have something to take up with me, leave them out of this." Clark said, trying to sound confident but sounding clearly shaken that Lana was being held at gunpoint.

"You brought them into this, not me. Now I think we should propose a bargain here." Lex said, snapping his fingers again as another man came into the room with a third chair.

"Please, take a seat." When Lex saw Clark's stern look, he sighed.

"If I tell my friend here to put his gun away, will you loosen up a bit and sit down?" Clark nodded his head and felt immediate relief as the largely set man put his gun away and took a step back from Lana. Clark took a seat and looked over at Lana apprehensively. She looked a little shaken, but otherwise fine.

"Now, if you can direct your attention over here, we can begin." Lex said with a smirk. Clark looked at Lex and pretended to listen.

"Okay, here is the plan. You do something for me, and I do something for you. This is a win-win situation, why can't you see that?" Lex said persuasively. Clark just shook his head.

"Hmm... what to do." Lex pondered while putting his hand up to his chin and pretending to think.

"I know. Why don't we give you a little incentive."

"Like what?" Clark asked, making it clearly evident that he was getting annoyed with Lex's games. Lex just continued to smile and snapped his fingers. The man that had been ready to shoot Lana stepped back up. Instead of taking his gun out, he stooped down and hit her square in the ribs. All in the room heard the sickening crack of bones as his fist descended again on the opposite side, breaking at least one more rib in the process. Lana cried out in pain and tears streamed down her cheeks. Clark swiftly stood up and grabbed the man around his pudgy neck and lifted him into the air, his breaths coming out raged from his intense fury.

"You touch her again, and you will know a whole new level of pain." Clark stated slowly, his voice seething with anger. The man looked slightly nervous at that statement and just nodded. Clark tossed him into a wall on the opposite side of the room and left a noticeable hole.

"Why did you have to go and ruin one of my favorite rooms? I thought you were more considerate than that." Lex said sarcastically. Clark was getting tired of Lex's cool façade.

"Sit down, or your little girlfriend here will know what real pain is." Lex warned. Clark sat quickly, hazarding a glance over to the girls. Both looked scared.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?" Clark asked. He heard Lana try to say something, but she had a rag stuffed into her throat and duck tape securing it tightly. Clark ignored her and looked at Lex.

"Much better. As we speak, I am planning to have some of my highly trained operatives infiltrate a high security prison and release one of my friends. He had a pretty bad record that even my money couldn't get him out of, so when they call for Superman, you will go. When you get there, instead of killing or disabling my men, you will subdue some of the guards and help them get my man out. Is that clear?" Clark looked over at Lana as she shook her head but he looked back at Lex and nodded.

"Good. Now you better get ready, they should be landing at the prison in about 10 minutes." Lex said, snapping his fingers as the girls were 'escorted' from the room and out of sight.

"Where are you taking them?" Clark demanded.

"Relax Clark, it's just for assurance. They will not be harmed if you do your job." Clark walked out of the room and followed the men who held Mollie and Lana.

He followed them into a room beneath the mansion and began to feel weak.

"Do you like my little prison facility down here? Anyone I want to keep locked up will stay locked up." Lex said from behind as he watched Clark shrivel. The green bars of the cells glowed as he clutched his stomach in pain.

"Kal!" He heard Lana shout as she was forced into a cell.

Lex looked down at Clark curiously and then smiled knowingly.

"So you didn't tell them your real identity? I'm surprised." Lex said while chuckling. Lana looked confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked Lex.

"Oh, Miss Lang, I think that is for him to tell you himself, once he has finished his task." Lex said while patting Clark's shoulder. He struggled to maintain his balance, but slid down the wall, doubling over in pain.

"I'll get you guys out of here, I promise." He said with all the strength he had before he shambled out of the room.

Lana and Mollie looked at each other nervously and then over at the two glaring guards, watching their every move. Lex vacated the room and shut the door behind him, leaving the girls in the hands of their guards.

Pete ran up the steps of the Luthor mansion, completely out of breath. He bent down to regain his normal breathing and then looked around warily. He carefully opened the large door and entered the house.

Being as discrete as possible he walked down the halls and followed the sound of voices echoing through the halls. He heard footsteps approach and squatted into an unlocked room. He saw Lana and Mollie being taken roughly down the hall followed by Clark and Lex behind him.

Pete waited until they were much further down the hall before giving up his hiding spot and making his way down the hall. He made his way all the way to the back of the mansion and found the door they had disappeared into. He waited at the top and heard Clark groan in pain as Lex chuckled. Pete could tell they were near the door, so he backed up and hid behind a pillar.

He heard bits and pieces of the conversation, but nothing to let him know what was going on. He heard Clark and Lex walk out while talking and then the door from which they had come from shut and all was quiet.

'I think it's safe now.' Pete thought to himself as he crept to the door. He creaked it open slightly and saw two large men playing cards in a corner while Lana and Mollie sat in two green cells.

Pete saw a chair near the door and quickly grabbed it, heading for the two men. He got behind the first one and hit him square in the head, knocking him into the table. The second man turned to see Pete and immediately grabbed for his gun, but was hit with a bone-crushing smack from the chair.

After noting that there were no other people in the room, Pete ran to where Lana and Mollie were watching him.

"Pete! We have to get out of here and find Kal." Lana yelled as Pete looked around for a key.

"Where are the keys?" Pete asked hastily, running and searching the men frantically.

"Over by the door." Mollie said while pointing to the key chain hanging on a hook near the door. Pete grabbed them and let both girls out of their cells.

"I don't know where they went. I waited in the hall until they left and then came in here." Pete explained while they exited the room. Lana went left, Mollie went right, and Pete spun around a few times before following Mollie.

"Hey, what happened?" Pete asked Mollie as they walked warily down the hall.

"Lana almost got shot, then she got a few broken ribs, and then Clark agreed to help Lex jailbreak some guy." Mollie summed up while looking around a corner.

"Really? And we just let the injured one go off by herself?" Pete asked. Mollie looked at him for a second before running back down the hall in search of Lana with Pete hot on her heels.


	11. Red Ferraris and The End

Lana walked slowly down the hall. Her body ached and she could feel her ribs more than she wanted to. She grimaced as she tripped and fell to the floor. She coughed violently and blood dripped from her lips to the hard wood floor.

Pete and Mollie rushed up behind her and helped her up to her feet.

"Lana, you don't look so good." Mollie said seriously.

"Gee thanks." Lana said weakly, trying to laugh.

"We need to get you to the hospital now." Pete said urgently, half carrying, half dragging Lana to the door.

"What are we going to do about Kal?" Mollie asked anxiously.

"Cla- Kal can handle himself, believe me." Pete said while trying to balance Lana and open the door.

The trio ran to the garage and picked one of the doors to open. Pete shrugged and opened the first one to see a red Ferrari. His eyebrows shot up in disbelief, and then he went for the car. The keys were in a locked case, so Pete put Lana down gently and took the shirt he was wearing off. He wrapped it around his knuckles and punched through the glass.

He replaced his shirt and found the right set of keys and hopped into the car while Mollie put Lana in the back seat and then sat next to her.

"Ready?" Pete asked, revving the engine.

"Yeah, we need to hurry." Mollie yelled over the engine. Pete smirked and put the car into reverse and slammed on the gas. They shot backwards and then Pete put it in drive and hurtled down the driveway and out the open gate.

Five minutes later they reached the hospital and Pete and Mollie rushed Lana into the emergency room. She was taken almost immediately and disappeared into the back.

Clark had just finished his assignment and was returning to Smallville to make sure that the girls were okay. He landed in front of the mansion and barged in to see Lex on his phone.

"That was a stupid thing to do Clark. I told you to break someone out of jail, not put them all in jail." Lex said while hanging up his phone.

"I just couldn't resist." Clark said with a smirk.

"Well, for your obvious refusal to comply with the rules, your friends will just have to die, slowly of course." Lex concluded with a smirk.

"Why do you still want them? Why don't you let them go and keep me here."

"That would be more convenient for you wouldn't it. You would be here, but your little girlfriend would be okay. That's far to nice, and you should know by now that I don't do nice." Lex reminded.

"Then what would you gain from killing them?"

"The satisfaction of watching you suffer." Lex said simply.

"Can I at least see them then?" Clark asked sadly.

"Alright, one last time." Lex said, leading him to the room where Lana and Mollie were being held.

"What the..." Lex said, opening the door and seeing his bodyguards groggily waking up and two empty cells.

"How did this happen!" Lex roared, walking up to his guards.

"I don't know. I was playing card, and then something hit me in the back of the head." The first one explained.

"All I was a chair coming towards me while I tried to get my gun." The second said while rubbing his head.

"Don't just stand there, they couldn't have gotten far! Go look for them!" Lex bellowed as the two guards high tailed it out of the room and started searching the premises.

Clark got far enough away from the cells to not feel their effects and then he yelled to Lex.

"I guess the deal is off." He said with a smirk. Lex strode over to where he was.

"This is just the beginning." He spat angrily before going to aid in the search.

Clark started to wonder where they were and decided to try to listen for their voices. At first he heard a mixture of different noises and a siren, then he heard Pete and Mollie talking to each other. He couldn't tell where they were until he heard Pete address a doctor concerning Lana. He sped to the hospital and arrived just as Pete and Mollie were following the doctor down the hall.

"Pete!" He yelled running down the hall towards them. Pete and Mollie both turned around to see Clark coming to join them.

"What's going on?" He asked worriedly, looking from Pete to Mollie, searching for an answer.

"Lana's got some broken ribs, and she coughed up some blood and then passed out." Pete said slowly. Clark's fists clenched and his knuckles went white.

"She's going to be okay, we were just on our way down to see her." Mollie said when she saw Clark's frustration. He just nodded and followed them to her room.

Clark looked through the window and saw Lana sleeping in one of the hospital beds. She looked a little pale, but not at death's door. He exhaled slowly and opened the door and went inside. Pete and Mollie decided to wait outside and give them a moment.

Mollie turned to Pete and beckoned for him to come sit down next to her on a little bench near the room. He did so and she immediately started questioning him.

"Okay Pete, I know there is something you aren't telling us about Kal." She said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Pete asked nervously.

"You know what I mean. Why does everyone call him Clark? Why did Lex say that we didn't know who he really was?" Pete took a deep breath; he had to think of a way to explain it without giving anything away.

"Where do you go to school Pete?" This was an easy one.

"Metropolis U, why?"

"And you are Kal's roommate?"

"Yes." He said, wondering what she was getting at.

"Here is my theory. His name is really Clark, and he is the one that Lana has been talking to online for a year." Mollie said confidently. Pete felt his palms clam up and his breathing became ragged.

"Wha... what makes you say that?"

"I have been putting everything together. At first you two were really good at covering it up. Then we were at the Talon, and Chloe called him Clark and looked confused when he said his name was Kal. This you almost called him Clark but you corrected yourself. The other day before all this started, Lana talked to a guy named Pete who was Clark's roommate. It just all makes sense." Mollie concluded.

"Alright. Since you pretty much have it down to a T, I will just tell you. You're right. His real name is Clark and the reason you guys were in danger was not because he came to your dorm a few times, it was because Lex knew about Clark and Lana talking online." Pete finished.

"I knew it! Wait till I tell Lana. She will totally flip."

"No, don't tell Lana. I think Clark was planning on doing that after this is all sorted out."

"Alright. I won't say anything. Thanks for being honest Pete." Mollie finished before getting up and heading into the room.

"Has she woken up yet?" Mollie asked once she entered.

"Nope. I think I will go inform the police about Lex, excuse me." Clark said, getting up and exiting the room.

"Hey Lana." Mollie said softly, taking the seat Clark had just vacated.

"Mollie? Is that you?" Lana said, opening her eyes.

"Yep. Glad to see you're back!" Mollie said cheerfully.

"Yeah. Was Kal just in here? I could've sworn I heard him talking to me. He said something about him not being who he told me he was, or something." Mollie decided to play dumb.

"It's just me and Pete." She said innocently. Lana just nodded and closed her eyes again.

A nurse came into the room and informed the two that Lana would be ready to go by morning and that they would have to leave now, as visiting hours were over.

"What time can we pick her up?" Mollie asked.

"She will be ready to go by 9." The nurse said sweetly.

"Alright. See you tomorrow Lana." Mollie said, getting up and following Pete out of the room. They met Clark back in the lobby and came in at the end of his phone call.

"They said that Lex had already fled the mansion. They are going to try to find him, but I don't think we will be seeing him for a while." Clark said sadly.

"At least he won't be bothering us for a long time, and when he does, you can just take him in." Pete said, trying to cheer up his friend.

"I know. When can we take Lana home?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Tomorrow at 9. So lets just get some sleep and then this whole thing will be over." Pete said, putting a comforting hand on Clark's shoulder and ushering him out of the hospital.

The air outside was crisp and clean as a drizzle fell from the sky and slightly dampened everything. Clark noticed the Ferrari parked in the parking lot and looked at Pete.

"What? I needed to get here fast. I don't think he will miss it." Pete said with a smirk. "It was great too, you should drive it."

"Alright, then give me the keys." Clark said, putting his hand out.

"I said you should drive it, not that you were going to. This is mine tonight! You can drive it back to MU, alright." Pete compromised.

"Fine," Clark agreed, "but I call shotgun." He said with a grin. Mollie gave him a challenging look and they raced for the passenger side. Mollie was pretty fast, so Clark cheated a bit a super sped the last few yards.

"You cheater!" Mollie said jokingly. Clark just shrugged his shoulder innocently and got in. Mollie folded her arms but got in the back.

Once they were home, Martha came rushing out to the car.

"Where have you been? We were so worried." She exclaimed, throwing her arms around her son.

"We are alright. Lex took Lana and Mollie, so I went after them, then there were some complications, but everything is alright now. Lana will be out of the hospital tomorrow and we shouldn't see Lex for a while."

"Lana is in the hospital? What happened, is she alright?" Clark just nodded and promised to tell them everything once they were inside.

After the story about the day's events, everyone went to bed and anxiously waited for the next day.

Clark was the first one to rise the next morning. He shot out of bed as his alarm went off. He looked around his room and saw that the sun was just beginning to come up.

He got up, sped through the shower and rushed downstairs to get breakfast. Pete was sleeping on the couch and was snoring loudly.

While Clark was rushing around trying to find something to eat, Pete shot straight up and looked at him.

"What time is it?" Pete asked indignantly, his clothes ruffled and his eyes still half closed.

"It's about 6:30. Why?" Clark said while shoving a piece of toast into his mouth.

"We don't need to get her until 9, why are you up?" Pete said while falling back down on the couch.

"I needed to get some chores done before we go, and I didn't want to take too long and then run late." Clark explained, speaking at two times his normal speed.

"Right, well, you do that, and I am going to sleep." Pete said, already falling back into his dreams. Clark hurriedly went outside and finished his chores quickly. About 30 minutes later, he came back in and took another shower.

This time he came downstairs much more slowly, and seemed to be down from his earlier hi.

"Will you get up Pete. Mollie is already up, and we have to leave in 20 minutes." Clark said, looking down at his watch.

"Mmmhhmm. Whatever you say man." Pete said into his pillow.

"I'm serious Pete, wake up." Clark said while pulling the pillow away from Pete's grip and tossing it aside.

"Fine." Pete growled, getting up and walking over to the kitchen.

"What do you want to eat? We don't have that much time, so hurry up." Clark said while going back upstairs.

"Uh huh." Pete said to himself, still not fully awake. He ate some toast and then decided to change shirts before leaving. He was heading up the stairs when Clark and Mollie came down.

"Where are you going, we have to leave man." Clark said while backing him back down the stairs.

"I just want to change shirts. It won't take me but a minute or two." Pete said, trying to get up the stairs.

"Sorry Pete, but we are leaving right now, you can change later." Clark said, pushing him out the door.

"Alright fine. I'm driving though." Pete said while putting his hand in his pocket to get the keys. He heard a jingling in his ear and turned around the see Mollie holding the keys.

"You are going to let her drive!" Pete said.

"Yeah, she really wants to, so why not." Clark said with a smile.

"I think I'll walk then." Pete said, walking away from the car.

"We won't wait for you." Clark called, getting in next to Mollie and looking over at Pete. Pete sighed and hopped into the back seat before they sped off towards the hospital.

When they arrived, Lana was trying to walk out with a nurse running behind her trying to get her to get in the wheel chair she had brought.

"I'm fine." Lana insisted, but the nurse wasn't listening.

"We can take it from here ma'am." Clark said, getting out of the car and walking towards Lana. She looked very relieved to see a friendly face and smiled.

"Alright, good luck." The nurse muttered, turning and heading back into the hospital.

"How are you feeling?" Clark asked softly. Lana just shrugged and raised an eyebrow as she saw the expensive car behind him.

"And when did you get that?" She said, looking at Mollie.

"It was a going away gift from Lex." She said before laughing. Lana looked confused, but shrugged it off and started walking towards the car.

"You ready to go home Lana?" Mollie asked her friend while they pulled up in at the Kent farm.

"I don't know. I suppose we need to be getting back to class don't we." Lana said, looking out at the open fields, knowing she was going to miss it.

"We need to be going back to school too, since someone forgot that they were supposed to get my homework and came here instead." Clark said, shooting an accusing glance at his roommate.

"Yeah well, turns out you needed me." Pete said while getting out.

As the girls were getting their things downstairs, Mollie turned to Lana.

"Didn't we need to make a trip to MU before we head home. I understand that this really hot guy goes to school there and we should pay him a visit." Mollie said, making sure the guys heard.

"Oh yeah, we do need to do that. I cannot wait to see Clark." Lana said excitedly. Clark smiled a little and looked over at Pete. Mollie was looking at them and gave Pete a knowing smile before turning back to her roommate.'

"Pete, why don't you give us a ride up there. Don't you go to MU?" Mollie asked.

"Why yes I do. I actually know this Clark guy; I'll drive you guys up there right now. I think Kal probably has some Superman stuff to do, so we will leave you to it buddy." Clark nodded, giving Pete a look and then turned to Lana.

"I guess I'll be seeing you." He said before giving her a hug and going back up stairs. Lana looked after him and smiled.

"Ready ladies?" Pete asked. Both girls nodded and they loaded their things into the Ferrari and headed out. Once they were gone, Clark packed up some of his things and super sped back to his dorm.

Pacing. Pacing was all Clark had been doing for the past two hours. He was so anxious that he couldn't sit still for more than two minutes. He didn't know what he was going to say once they got here. He kept trying to think of something to say, but the only thing that came to mind was... well... nothing.

'There has to be some perfect phrase I could say that would explain everything.' Clark thought to himself. In movies the guys had always managed to say the right thing and the girl would just run into their arms and kiss them, but this was a lot harder now that he had to do it.

'Alright, you've got time man, you can do this.' Clark said to himself nervously. Just as he thought this, a knock came at the door and he could hear Pete yelling at him to open up.

His heart raced. ' This is it.' He said to himself as he smoothed his hair and then went for the door. The moment he opened it, Pete came in and then Mollie and Lana's head turned up from where she had been digging in her purse and she dropped it to the ground. Her eyes went wide and tears started to form. One silently ran down her cheek and a look of utter disbelief filled her features.

Clark quickly walked up to her and wiped the tears running down her cheeks away and held her face in his hands.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you before." He said softly. He was trying to think of something else to say, but luckily, he didn't need to.

Lana's face broke into a beautiful smile and she leaned up and brought her lips hungrily to his. He returned her kiss with fervor, closing his eyes and letting his hand slip to the back of her neck and pulled her closer.

When they broke apart at last, Lana's head was spinning and her breaths were coming out heavily. She looked up into the eyes of the man who she had grown to love in only a few short days and had liked for a year before that. He looked back down at her, a smile of relief and joy playing across his face.

"I'm so glad it was you." Lana said finally.

"Me too." Clark said before lowering his head and capturing her lips in another passion filled kiss.


End file.
